Birthdays Galore!!

March starts off with a bang!  March 2nd is my sister's Birthday, March 3rd is our dear friend Roane's birthday, March 4th is Lindsey's birthday, March 5th is Becca's birthday and March 8th is my brother's birthday!  Can you understand why I'm behind?  All of these people hold such a special place in our lives.  We could NEVER have survived being so far from family the 11 years we lived in Memphis without Becca, Roane and Lindsey.  They brightened our lives in so many ways.  Lindsey and Becca started off as babysitters/house sitters and then became family, almost all of our memories in Memphis have Becca and Lindsey in them.  Roane taught Nicholas and Caroline to swim, we went to many holidays at her home, she did an Easter egg hunt for N and C, and I got to take her with us to SC in the beautiful paintings she did for us.  They are our family!  My brother is a God Loving, hardworking, wonderful father, husband and man and I am proud to be a part of his life!  Here are some pictures to celebrate our FAMILY birthdays!

 Roane, Caroline, Ethan and Sassy!

 Nicholas, Becca and Caroline--I LOVE this picture!

Lindsey and the Kiddos!













My brother Stan with niece Olivia when she was an ity bity!

30! 30! 30! 30!

Here is a shout out to my zany, crazy sister who turns the big 30!!! today!  She is a little bummed about it but I think we all get better with age--don't you!  She runs races, is a great mom, a great sis (I talk to her everyday) and a military wife!  What more do you need to know?  HAPPY BIRTHDAY THERESA!

Sometimes I stink.....

Sometimes I stink at really important things........like being a good aunt to my sweet nephews!  I started doing a Birthday shout out post about a year ago and this year I let Logan's birthday get by me.  It was a big one.....'10' double digits.  I stink!!  Sooo sorry sweet Logan and we really do love you!  Promise to make it up to you when you come stay with us a week this summer!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO LOGAN MICHAEL!!!

LOVE the mischievous look on his face.....

Happy Birthday to Caroline and Grace!!

I have to stop what I am doing and say Happy Birthday to two of my most favorite girls.  These are two of the hardest working, sweetest, most loving girls I know.  Our entire family is so blessed to have them in our lives and we will be forever grateful.  It all started when Nicholas was in 3rd grade and asked us if he could "bring flowers to Caroline because she had to get stitches in her head after a soccer game".  The rest as they say is history.  Our families are now knit together and many of our most precious memories from our time in Memphis are from our times spent with this very special family.  So very thankful for friendships that last no matter how many miles separate us.  WE LOVE YOU CAROLINE AND GRACE!

 Grace

Caroline

Ancient Rome

Nicholas had another project due in his honors Social Studies class; the current topic is Ancient Rome. Nicholas requested permission to replicate the ancient city, rather than create a puppet, or something on a much smaller scale!

I thought this was a cool idea, and found several paper models online, and away we went...Mom was cutting, Nicholas labeling, Dad building, Mom still cutting, Nicholas snacking, Dad still building, Mom gave up cutting, Nicholas helped build then went to bed, Dad still building...You get the picture! In the end, Nicholas has a really cool project for class...

We built the Colosseum, Jupiter's Temple, St. Peter's Basilica, the Triumphal Arch, and a Bath House from 'scratch'...no plans for that one - just had to get creative!

Triumphal Arch

Jupiter's Temple

St. Peter's Basilica

Colosseum

Bath House

Caroline the Basketball Player...Too!

Not to be outdone, Caroline has turned into quite the basketball player on her Rec League team. She and Dad went to the gym one day when Nicholas had a 'shooting lesson' with his coach. Caroline says she got her 'shoots lesson' with Daddy. Caroline is known on her team as the 'Defensive Beast', and she's really good on defense.

She must have been paying attention in her 'shoots lesson' with Dad, because in her last game, she score 4 points to go with her 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 assists! All Daddy did was copy what Nicholas coach has him doing for his basketball homework...go Dad! Even more, Go Caroline!!

Got the rebound AND the basket!

Taking it to the Hoop!

Nicholas' basketball team enters their last weekend of the regular season with a PERFECT 11-0, and expect to cap it off with another victory on Saturday.

Concentrating on the free throw

Layup, and the foul!

Nicholas was a starter for his team, and played mostly on the wing (the '3' position for the basketball minded folks), but often played center on defense because of his height.

Shooting the Jumper

Good luck to his team in the upcoming playoffs, which start soon!

Nice Pass!